Film Director Kwak Ji-gyoon Commits Suicide

Film Director Kwak Ji-gyoon (real name Kwak Jeong Kyun), who was the most powerful director during the 1980s and 1990s, as he had made famous movies such as "Portrait of the Days of Youth"",Walking to Heaven", and "Wanderer In Winter", was found dead in his home on May 25. He was 56 years old. According to a spokesperson in the movie industry, his older brother found him in his house and reported it to the police. His brother had come by Kwak's house because he could not contact him for several days. When the body was found, director Kwak was lying beside a burned briquette and his will was found on his laptop computer.

It was made public that he wrote in his will, "As there is no work, it is very painful and hard for me". A friend said, "Director Kwak Ji-gyoon had suffered from depression since ten years ago. He has felt distressed because he cannot make films". The late director entered into the movie industry as an assistant director in 1980 with the movie "The Hidden Hero" and debuted as a director in 1986 with the movie "Wanderer In Winter".

After he debuted as a director, he made movies such as "Love Triangle" (1987), "Long After That" (1989), "Reminisce (1989)", "Portrait of the Days of Youth" (1991), "Walking To Heaven" (1992)", "Days of Roses" (1994), "Deep Blue" (1997), and "Plum Blossom" (2000). He usually produced melodrama films focused on wandering in youth. In his emotional and trendy films, many star actors such as Choi Min-soo, Kang Soo-yeon, Lee Mi-sook, Jung Bo-suk, Kang Suk-woo, Bae Jong-Wook, Choi Soo-ji, and Lee Bo-hee were cast, and they worked with the late director Kwak.

He was distinguished as a director and he had garnered various awards including the Best New Director awards, Best Director award, and Best Adaptation award in the Grand Bell Awards, the Best New Director award in the Critics Choice Awards, Today's Writer Award, and Christian Culture Award. But, after he filmed the movie "Plum Blossom", he had to take a break for a long time. After many twists and turns during a six year break, he presented the movie "Fly High", in which Ji Hywon-woo and Lim Jeong Eun appeared as the main leads, in 2006.

He was once a star director and regarded as a star in the movie industry, but he had to go through many difficulties when he made the movie "Fly High". He was astonished at how much things had changed during that time and said during the interview that he made his best effort to follow the trend of the times and not to fall behind the trend of the new generation even in his fifties. But, his movie completely failed and since then for four years, he could not make his next film.

A person in movie industry said, "After director Kwak failed in his last film, he went to his hometown of Daejeon and confined himself to his home. He was a very good person, so many juniors visited him, but as he has introspective personality, he did not leave Daejeon and his depression had grown. It is too sad". He lived and died as a single man. His mortuary is the Sungshim Funeral Hall in Daejeon.

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